Here lies Walter Fielding. He bought a house and it killed him.

When I was laid off in April, I wasn't that discouraged. I hadn't liked my job in a very long time. I was driving almost an hour to and from work every day and, once I got to work, had very little to do. No one really paid attention to what I was doing, the company was in constant upheaval, and there were so many layoffs every week that everyone was all negative, all the time, no exceptions.

So I welcomed my unemployment, really, and I vowed that I wasn't going to take another job just to have a job. I was really lucky that I had that luxury. Really, really lucky. Joe was super supportive and was more adamant that I was, even, that I not take a job I wasn't sure I'd love. Probably because he didn't want to listen to me complain about work anymore. Hee.

I accepted a job offer a couple of weeks ago and start a week from today. I really think it's going to be a good fit. I'm so excited to work for this company, a local non-profit, housed in a beautiful building downtown. When I started my job search, I had this vague idea of what I wanted to be doing, based realistically on my experience, as well as my volunteer work, but I wasn't sure exactly what I'd end up doing. And instead of just applying wily-nily to any job I was qualified for, I sought out the companies I thought I'd like to work for, stalked their websites, and applied for jobs there whenever they came up. Guess what, it worked! Whoo!

So anyway, now that I have a job, Joe and I can start house hunting. We looked at approximately 10 million houses this past weekend and found a few that I wanted to make out with, and even more that I wanted to barf on. Because they were so gross that barfing on them would make them better. That's not really true. Duh. Then I joined Pinterest and am now obsessed with decorating a house that I DON'T EVEN HAVE YET. Yep, that sounds about right. 

Tiiii-iiiiime is on my side

Hey, remember that really annoying Time Warner commercial from a couple years ago? I know that doesn't help much because, as Time Warner is Satan's boyfriend, it follows that he puts out the most annoying commercials known to mankind, surpassed only by Hidy Honda and Buddy's Carpet. Those might be local commercials. Sorry. Actually no, if you've never seen a Hidy Honda or Buddy's Carpet commercial, consider yourself lucky.

Anyway. There was this really annoying Time Warner commercial, and in it, Vanessa Carlton (remember her?) warbles that song Time is On My Side. My point is, it's like the worst rendition of that song in existence. And I'm counting that time I sang it at a karaoke bar after 18 shots of tequila. OK, that never happened, but if it HAD, it still would have been better than that song. Um. Right. So.

I have absolutely no reason to be blogging right now, other than I'm bored and I have nothing else to do. Hey, it's just like the days of yore! You know! Yore! When I used to work at that orthodontist office and they would leave me unattended every Friday and I'd run out of work around 10 and spend the rest of the day blogging and reading the Internets! Good times. My 'n' key keeps sticking. So if any words are misspelled, that's why. I keep accidentally typing my name like this: Jeie, which is great because what I really want is for everyone at work to think I don't know how to spell my name right. Although, according to my parents, I haven't been spelling my name right since 4th grade. That's when I changed it from "Jenny" to "Jennie" because there were four other Jennifers in my class and they all went by Jenny and they all spelled it with a 'y' and I was all, "I want to be different!" I wish someone had told me I didn't have to change the spelling of my name because I was always going to be "different," no matter how I spelled my name. It would have saved a lot of confusion. And time. Because I've had lots of conversations like this:

HP (Hypothetical Person, not Harry Potter): Do you go by Jennifer?
Me: No, Jennie.
HP: Is that with a 'y' or an 'i'?
Me: "i-e."
HP: ...oh.

I didn't think it was that weird in 4th grade, but people seem to have a hard time with it. I almost started spelling it like this: Jinniey. I'm glad I didn't, though. Most people default to the wrong spelling (Jenny), but I don't get offended considering a lot of my family doesn't even remember to spell it right (Jennie). Tamara tried to convince me that I should start going by "Jen" or "Jennifer" at my new job, just to switch things up. I fully intended to do so on my first day, but then my new boss led me around introducing me as "Jennie with an ie," and I knew it wasn't going to happen. I finally got someone to remember that I'm Jennie with an 'ie' JUST when I don't want anyone to call me Jennie at ALL. Isn't it ironic? Well? Alanis? Anyone?

Anyway, NOW my point is I'm going to start going by Cassandra. Tell your friends.

Are you there, blog? It's me, Jennie.

One week in, and I still don't have access to everything I need in order to do my job and so here I sit, twiddling my thumbs and twirling my hair. Although, not at the same time because I only have two hands so that'd be impossible. Or at least really hard. Anyway. It's not that I mind mindlessly surfing the internet all day, it's just that I have so much time to mindlessly surf the internet THAT I'M RUNNING OUT OF INTERNET. My Google Reader is practically empty and if it goes to ZERO, prepare for FULL-BLOWN PANIC. You know, running through the building and screaming and tearing out hair and rending of garments etc. It's not pretty, is what I'm saying.

Yesterday, my coffeemaker went kaput, making this the fourth coffeemaker to die in our apartment. I blame the kitchen, not Heidi or I, because THROUGH NO FAULT OF OUR OWN*, most of the other kitchen appliances have also broken. Clearly there is some sort of Hellmouth under our kitchen so I'll place the blame there. I went exploring at lunch, even though I had no idea where I was going, which is a dangerous thing for someone like me who gets lost in her own apartment. Anyway, not only did I find a Target so I could replace my coffeemaker, but I found a Panera and a Chipotle AND A BOOKSTORE and a bunch of other stores that I had no use for today, but it's nice to know they're there. So, you know, it's a good thing this job pays more, is what I'm saying.

*aside from the garbage disposal

I always wondered...

if I could spend an entire day at work and NOT check my personal e-mail. Turns out I can, but only if I don't have a computer in front of me.

Also. I'm sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepy. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a billion items in my Google Reader to get through.